SoCal: Day Two

Josh Gershon

07/20/2012

LONG BEACH, Calif. - In the second day of the second July Evaluation Period, Scout.com concentrated on prospects at the Fullcourt Press Cream of the Crop, where there were several players of note, including 2014 point guard Robert Cartwright.

Kameron Rooks, C, Gamepoint Black: Rooks is going to be a tough call for many coaches. His body needs a lot of work, which a redshirt year and a college strength coach can assist with, and he'll need time to get to where he needs to be physically, so the school that takes him will need to be patient. He'll also likely need to choose the right system for him. But the bottom line is the kid is talented. He was comfortable with his right hook, finished with contact, rebounded on both ends, stepped out to shoot it and made some very nice passes from the post. If he can make a commitment to get in great shape, he can be really successful. It's a very light class of West Coast centers in 2013, and Rooks remains one of the top options available.

Richaud Gittens, SG, Arizona Stars: Gittens has really put his name on the map over the past week and didn't do anything to hurt his rising stock on Thursday. The athletic shooting guard scored on a couple floaters and consistently attacked the basket, both in the half court set and in transition. Also capable of hitting the open three, Gittens has a lot of upside and has had a good amount of low to mids following him.

Elliott Pitts, SG, Bay Area Hoosiers: Pitts had a solid outing on Thursday night. He started off the game by hitting a couple pull-up three-pointers and made some very nice passes in the open court. As the game went on he found more success by scoring going to the basket. Pitts' two best attributes are probably his shooting and basketball IQ, as he's capable of hitting any shot when left open, but is constantly making smart passes within a team concept and always plays hard.

Noah Allen, SF, Bay Area Hoosiers: It looks like Allen has slimmed down some since April and it's helped his quickness. His shot wasn't always falling but the stroke looks good. Allen did play very hard, was tough on defense and used his strong frame to get to the basket in transition. He has wide shoulders and you can see him being a very strong kid after a few years. You can see why he has a lot of successful programs out west eyeing him.

Dakarai Allen, SF, Play Hard Play Smart: Allen did plenty of good things on Thursday but in general he wasn't at his highest level. Defensively he played well as always, coming away with several steals and blocks, while also preventing his man from doing much scoring. On the offensive end, even though he struggled with turnovers at times, he had a handful of terrific passes and got to the free throw line several times. Allen stopped looking for his shot after a couple early misses and while there's no shame in being unselfish - Allen's team-first attitude is one of the reasons you like him - he's a capable enough scorer to look to do it more.

Darin Johnson, SG, Play Hard Play Smart: Johnson is a pretty talented scorer who can do it in a number of ways. He's confident shooting from three, but also has a quick first step and good body control, allowing him to take men off the dribble from the perimeter to get to the basket. He exhibited a pretty nice spin move to the basket and had some nice plays eluding defenders driving through the paint. His recruitment continues to expand and you can definitely see why.

Robert Cartwright, PG, L.A. Rockfish: By far one of the biggest emergences of the Evaluation period comes from Cartwright. The point guard is a young looking kid who plays with an edge and toughness that you wouldn't expect. He's relentless on defense and picked off one errant pass after the other, taking them the other way for easy baskets. His stroke looks good and he was knocking down shots from both midrange and 3. Cartwright also has excellent vision and made countless pinpoint passes to teammates. This kid has a lot of talent and while he's slight physically, he's good enough to make up for it.

Isaiah Bailey, SF, Team Compton: Bailey remains right there on the brink of taking his game to the next level and shows flashes of what he could be. On Thursday afternoon he started off his game with a couple three-pointers and scored on a floater. He drove and dished, converted an alley-oop and scored on the offensive glass. He has all the physical gifts and many of the skills necessary to be an elite talent and is a nice player that remains a very good prospect.

Iziahiah Sweeney, SG, Team Compton: An athletic shooting guard, Sweeney continues to take his game to the next level. He is best from midrange, where he can either knock down the jumper at a respectable percentage or take it to the basket and finish. He looks as if he's still growing and has grown in the past year, and has had a strong summer.

Dorian Pickens, SG, Arizona Stars: Pickens' greatest value right now is as a shooter. He has a quick release and is a lethal shooter from both midrange and three. On Thursday, he scored from both distances, both off the bounce and catch. He's definitely one of the top shooters out west in 2014.

* Team Compton's 2014 point guard Kyron Cartwright is a talented kid, who scored with his three-pointer and floater, while also taking the ball to the basket and creating for others.

* Leland King had a typical game for him, rebounding everything, making the right pass every time, finishing around the basket and hitting the midrange jumper.

* Paul Watson has gradually improved as the spring and summer have evolved. He's playing harder and showed a greater desire to attack the basket. Already a good shooter and a talented athlete, there's a strong correlation between how hard Watson plays and how successful he is.

Herb Sendek, Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, Washington State head coach Ken Bone and an assistant, as well as coaches from Oregon State, California, Arizona, Colorado and Utah watched Dakarai Allen and Darin Johnson.

Robert Cartwright has offers from Cal Poly and Rice, with interest from San Diego, Pepperdine, Eastern Washington and Utah State.

Kameron Rooks, C, Gamepoint Black: Rooks is going to be a tough call for many coaches. His body needs a lot of work, which a redshirt year and a college strength coach can assist with, and he'll need time to get to where he needs to be physically, so the school that takes him will need to be patient. He'll also likely need to choose the right system for him. But the bottom line is the kid is talented. He was comfortable with his right hook, finished with contact, rebounded on both ends, stepped out to shoot it and made some very nice passes from the post. If he can make a commitment to get in great shape, he can be really successful. It's a very light class of West Coast centers in 2013, and Rooks remains one of the top options available.

Richaud Gittens, SG, Arizona Stars: Gittens has really put his name on the map over the past week and didn't do anything to hurt his rising stock on Thursday. The athletic shooting guard scored on a couple floaters and consistently attacked the basket, both in the half court set and in transition. Also capable of hitting the open three, Gittens has a lot of upside and has had a good amount of low to mids following him.

Elliott Pitts, SG, Bay Area Hoosiers: Pitts had a solid outing on Thursday night. He started off the game by hitting a couple pull-up three-pointers and made some very nice passes in the open court. As the game went on he found more success by scoring going to the basket. Pitts' two best attributes are probably his shooting and basketball IQ, as he's capable of hitting any shot when left open, but is constantly making smart passes within a team concept and always plays hard.

Noah Allen, SF, Bay Area Hoosiers: It looks like Allen has slimmed down some since April and it's helped his quickness. His shot wasn't always falling but the stroke looks good. Allen did play very hard, was tough on defense and used his strong frame to get to the basket in transition. He has wide shoulders and you can see him being a very strong kid after a few years. You can see why he has a lot of successful programs out west eyeing him.

Dakarai Allen, SF, Play Hard Play Smart: Allen did plenty of good things on Thursday but in general he wasn't at his highest level. Defensively he played well as always, coming away with several steals and blocks, while also preventing his man from doing much scoring. On the offensive end, even though he struggled with turnovers at times, he had a handful of terrific passes and got to the free throw line several times. Allen stopped looking for his shot after a couple early misses and while there's no shame in being unselfish - Allen's team-first attitude is one of the reasons you like him - he's a capable enough scorer to look to do it more.

Darin Johnson, SG, Play Hard Play Smart: Johnson is a pretty talented scorer who can do it in a number of ways. He's confident shooting from three, but also has a quick first step and good body control, allowing him to take men off the dribble from the perimeter to get to the basket. He exhibited a pretty nice spin move to the basket and had some nice plays eluding defenders driving through the paint. His recruitment continues to expand and you can definitely see why.

[Media:727100]

Robert Cartwright, PG, L.A. Rockfish: By far one of the biggest emergences of the Evaluation period comes from Cartwright. The point guard is a young looking kid who plays with an edge and toughness that you wouldn't expect. He's relentless on defense and picked off one errant pass after the other, taking them the other way for easy baskets. His stroke looks good and he was knocking down shots from both midrange and 3. Cartwright also has excellent vision and made countless pinpoint passes to teammates. This kid has a lot of talent and while he's slight physically, he's good enough to make up for it.

Isaiah Bailey, SF, Team Compton: Bailey remains right there on the brink of taking his game to the next level and shows flashes of what he could be. On Thursday afternoon he started off his game with a couple three-pointers and scored on a floater. He drove and dished, converted an alley-oop and scored on the offensive glass. He has all the physical gifts and many of the skills necessary to be an elite talent and is a nice player that remains a very good prospect.

Iziahiah Sweeney, SG, Team Compton: An athletic shooting guard, Sweeney continues to take his game to the next level. He is best from midrange, where he can either knock down the jumper at a respectable percentage or take it to the basket and finish. He looks as if he's still growing and has grown in the past year, and has had a strong summer.

Dorian Pickens, SG, Arizona Stars: Pickens' greatest value right now is as a shooter. He has a quick release and is a lethal shooter from both midrange and three. On Thursday, he scored from both distances, both off the bounce and catch. He's definitely one of the top shooters out west in 2014.

[Media:237171]

* Team Compton's 2014 point guard Kyron Cartwright is a talented kid, who scored with his three-pointer and floater, while also taking the ball to the basket and creating for others.

* Leland King had a typical game for him, rebounding everything, making the right pass every time, finishing around the basket and hitting the midrange jumper.

* Paul Watson has gradually improved as the spring and summer have evolved. He's playing harder and showed a greater desire to attack the basket. Already a good shooter and a talented athlete, there's a strong correlation between how hard Watson plays and how successful he is.

Herb Sendek, Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, Washington State head coach Ken Bone and an assistant, as well as coaches from Oregon State, California, Arizona, Colorado and Utah watched Dakarai Allen and Darin Johnson.

[Media:237170]

Robert Cartwright has offers from Cal Poly and Rice, with interest from San Diego, Pepperdine, Eastern Washington and Utah State.